Intermediate sugar product.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLAUS A. SPREOKELS AND CHARLES A. 'KERN, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO FEDERAL REFINING COMPANY, OF JERSEY (JITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWV JERSEY.

INTERMEDIATE SUGAR PRODUCT.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 703,219, dated. June 24:, 1902. Original application filed November 19, 1901, Serial No. 82,825. Divided and this application filed May 6, 1902. Serial (No specimensl To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GLAUS A. SPRECKELS and CHARLES KERN, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Intermediate SugarProduct, of which the following is a full and true description.

The object of our invention is to produce an intermediate body which consists of a mass of sugar mixed with a sulfonated or sulfooleaginous defecating or cleansing agent. For certain purposes the full amount of said agent necessary to combine with the non-mechanical impurities of raw sugar may be left admixed therewith for a time, but preferably after mixing sugar and the agent the latter is removed as far as practicable by means of a centrifugal machine or other convenient way, leaving mixed with the sugar in lieu of the original non mechanical impurities a small amount of said cleansing agent. This results in a diminution of the total volume and weight of the original raw sugar by an amount equal to the difference between said non-mechanical impurities and the traces of the cleansing agent, thereby saving freight and storage expenses. As in keeping raw sugar the presence of the non-mechanical impurities has a tendency progressively to diminish the amount of crystallized sugar which can be obtained in subsequent refining, while our sulfonated defecating agent has importaut preserving properties, our new intermediate product, consisting of sugar mixed with said sulfonated or sulfo-oleaginous defecating agent, has obvious and important advantages.

The aim of our invention is the production, with a view to storing or shipping, of an intermediate body consisting in its preferred form of a mass of partly-purified sugar-crystals from which substantially all of the sugar impurities have been removed. As a consequence of the removal of the sugar impurities referred to fewer or smaller receptacles will be required, smaller warehouses may be employed, the amount of handling and shipping will be reduced, and the mass of sugarcrystals is less liable to decompose or deteriorate in storage or transit.

In order to produce the intermediate bodies constituting the subject-matter of our invention, as above stated, we employ a sulfonated defecatin g or cleansing agent preferably produced as described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 698,150, granted to us April 22, 1902. As described in our said patout No. 698,150, we may prepare a sulfonated or sulfo-oleaginous defecating or cleansing agent in the following way: We mix sulfuric acid, preferably of 1.835 specific gravity, (66 Baum,) or a mixture of acids containing sulfuric acid in the proportion of, say, from twenty to fifty parts, by weight, of the acid or acid mixture, with one hundred parts, by weight, of one or more bodies, of which resinous bodies, (such as rosin-oil,) fats, fatty oils and fatty acids, and essential oils (such as commercial oil of turpentine) are generic examples. The acid or acid mixture is added to the bodies gradually, so as to maintain a low temperature, and the mixture is allowed to stand for a few hours. The excess of acid is removed or neutralized either by the addition of alkali or by the addition of water and gravital separation. For the purpose of facilitating the removal of excess of acid and water a saline solution may be added to the sulfonated body. The proportion and strength of acid or acid mixture in sulfonating the various resinous bodies and fats, fatty oils, and fatty acids may be one hundred parts of such ingredients to each fifty parts of acid or acid mixture, and in the case of essential oils the proportions may be one hundred parts of the essential oil to each twenty parts of the acid or acid mixture. When the mixture is practically free from water or from excess of alkali when used, we may add thereto kerosene-oil or other hydrocarbon-oil or a mixture containing hydrocarbon-oil. The proportion and strength of the acid or acid mixture may, however, be varied, provided the result is that the body when acted upon by the sulfuric acid and in the condition in which it is to be used will not contain sulfuric acid. in a form inju rious to the sugar and will have an affinity or absorbent property for the impurities greater than the adherent properties of such impurities for the sugar itself. As stated in our said patent, We may employ defecating or cleansing liquids composed of or containing sulfonated or sulpho oleaginous bodies made by the subjection of mixtures of two or more resinous, fatty, or oily bodies to the action of sulfuric acid. We have obtained good results from a considerable number of such mixtures, of which the following may be cited as examples: first, rosin-oil, castoroil, and oleic acid; second, castor-oil, cotton-' seed oil, and oleic acid; third, lard and rosin oil; fourth, rosin-oil, oleic acid, and oil of turpentine; fifth, tallow and oil of turpentine. In another applioation,(of which our present application is a division,) Serial No. 82,825, filed November 19, 1901, we have particularly described the sulfonated or sulfooleaginous defecating or cleansing agents preferred by us and a method of producing the same. We add to the mass of sugarcrystals our defecating or cleansing liquid, which is non-solvent of sugar-crystals and which contains a sulfonated or sulfo-oleaginous defecating or cleansing agent produced as aforesaid, which liquid when mixed with the impure sugar or sugar-bearing material will so thoroughly absorb or act upon the. impurities contained in the material treated as to take out and carry with it when removed from the treated mass substantially all of the said impurities.

The amount of the composition used may be varied to suit the different qualities of the material being treated; but the massof sugarbearing material and cleanser should be semifluid at least, if not already so. In all cases there should of course be enough to absorb out the impurities. For example, we have obtained excellent results when treating raw sugar by employing eight pounds of cleanser to each ten'pounds of rawsugar. As the new defecating or cleansing liquid has no injurious effect upon the sugar-crystals, the quantity of such liquid may be increased as desired.

As pointed out in our Patent No. 700,099, granted May 13, 1902, one method of separating the defecating or cleansing liquid and absorbed impurities from sugar-crystals is as follows: After the intimate mixture of the said liquid and the material under treatment we preferably employ a mechanical device for purposes of separation. The mixture of the said cleansing or defecating liquid and the material being treated may be dumped into a rapidly-whirling centrifugal machine having a perforated basket of fine mesh, and we may subject the mixture to centrifugal action in this machine for, say, from one to five minutes, until the crystalline mass is considered to be thoroughly dried. The crystalline mass remaining in the centrifugal machine will be found to be substantially freed from the sugar impurities, but to bear slight traces of the cleansing composition employed and also to contain solid substances such as sticks, stones, straws, fibers, &c.-of the original mass. The mixture of cleanser and impuri ties expelled from the centrifugal may be treated in any desired way for the recovery of the cleanser and utilization of the impurities.

At any time when it is desired to treat the refined sugar we may employ any suitable process for filtering and recrystallization.

We claim- 1. The intermediate body, consisting of a massof sugar-crystals mixed with a sulfonated defecating agent, substantially as described.

2. The intermediate body, consisting of a mass of sugar-crystals mixed with a sulfooleaginous defecating agent, substantially as described.

3. The intermediate body, consisting of a mass of sugar-crystals, substantially freed from sugar impurities, and mixed with a sulfonated defecating agent, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names this 3d day of May, 1902.

OLAUS A. SPREOKELS. CHARLES A. KERN. In presence of" JOHN P. DONOHOE, LAURETTA T. NEVIN. 

